Deadly Mystery For Dolphins

March 25, 1988|By Gold

No one really understands the mysterious relationship between dolphins and tuna that accounts for their traveling together along the Pacific coast.

But this mystery gives way to slaughter. More than 100,000 dolphins, whose engaging personalities and intelligence make them natural stars at places such as Sea World, are massacred every year by American and foreign fishermen intent on catching tuna fish.

There's no good reason for it, and Congress has an opportunity this year to phase out the killing of dolphins by commercial fishermen before species are severely depleted.

The federal law that protects marine mammals can be tightened to reduce and eventually eliminate the dolphin kill by American tuna fishermen.

Right now, the U.S. fleet is allowed to kill up to 20,500 dolphins in the course of catching tuna. For unknown reasons, dol-

phins in part of the Pacific routinely cavort above schools of yellowfin tuna, an unlucky habit for the creatures.

They get caught in nets and are suffocated or crushed by the thousand, despite efforts by some fishermen to get them clear. A gradual phase-out would push fishermen to adopt fishing methods or to concentrate on tuna species that don't put the dolphins in danger.

At the same time, measures must be taken to reduce the number of dolphins killed by foreign fleets, which are responsible for by far the majority of dead dolphins.

One way to apply pressure is to limit tuna imports from countries that don't have laws to protect dolphins similar to those in effect here.

Tough regulation of American fishing won't do much good for the dolphins if there's nothing to prevent tuna fleets from Mexico and Panama from continuing the slaughter.